Hundreds of depositors at the South Bay’s two IndyMac Banks lined up early Monday to try to withdraw their money amid news that federal regulators had taken over the failed thrift.

“I showed up here because we have a lot of money here and it’s real important that we not lose our money,” said Shelley Stockwell, 63, of Rancho Palos Verdes.

Stockwell had arrived at the Torrance branch, at 2501 Pacific Coast Highway, at 6 a.m. Monday and already found a long line. The author of 12 how-to books, including one on how to deal with stress, said she was not satisfied with assurances from federal regulators that deposits up to $100,000 were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

“I think there’s a general concern about the FDIC and what that means,” Stockwell said. “I don’t know how safe it is and I have a vague distrust of the government at this point.”

Arguments broke out at the front of the line as some depositors accused others of trying to cut ahead.

Torrance resident Suzy Ely may have helped defuse some of the chaos by passing out numbered sticky notes to help people keep their place in line. Ely, 70, said she brought the note papers from home to avoid trouble.

“I just don’t like confrontation and I can just imagine people shoving and pushing in line,” said Ely, a retired office manager. “I didnt’ want to be a part of that.”

The line stretched about 250-people-long at the Torrance branch, with some depositors sitting on folding chairs and fanning themselves in the heat.

As depositors left the bank, others waiting in line swarmed around them to ask about their experience inside. One woman, who declined to give her name, said she was able to withdraw her deposits, which were less than $50,000. But her daughter was unable to withdraw tens of thousands of dollars because her accounts were “flagged,” the woman said, quoting a bank teller.

It was a similar scene at the Manhattan branch, at 1570 Rosecrans Ave.

“We don’t want to lose our money. We are here to take our money out of the bank,” said Jill Linsk, a 67-year-old retired travel agent from Marina del Rey. “It’s too scary what’s happening.”

Linsk invested about $100,000 a year ago and, with interest, was over the federally insured amount.

She expected to lose about $3,000.

“It’s only money,” she said.

FDIC representatives in black suits worked the line as the bank allowed 15 people inside at a time. One representative, who asked not to be identified, said customers had no reason to stand in line — the government took over the bank and their money was safe.

“They really don’t need to be here,” he said. “The bank has been revitalized by the FDIC. People are wasting their time.”

IndyMac, which was already in trouble because of subprime mortgages it had with people with bad or no credit history, was shut down Friday by federal regulators during a run on deposits. The federal Office of Thrift Supervision reported that $1.9 billion in consumer deposits were withdrawn.

The bank’s new CEO, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. executive John Bovenzi, was in Pasadena Sunday to try to reassure jittery bank customers, stockholders and the financial markets that the bank is sound, as is the nation’s banking system.

“Come Monday morning it will be business as usual,” Bovenzi said, adding that all 33 IndyMac branches will be open.

He said the FDIC’s role is to get the bank on solid financial footing, then sell it back to the private sector.

“Customers should just view this as a change in ownership,” he said. “I want to emphasize that customers should know that their insured money is safe.”

Accounts with up to $100,000, as well as joint accounts up to $200,000 and individual retirement accounts up to $250,000 are fully insured by the FDIC.

Some 265,000 IndyMac customers with $18 billion in deposits are fully insured. However, about 10,000 customers with deposits totaling $1 billion are not.

“It’s important to keep in mind the small percentage of uninsured are still covered for insured amounts and will have immediate access to 50 percent of their uninsured balances,” Bovenzi said.

Although the bank was closed over the weekend, customers still had access to their funds via ATMs, debit cards and conventional checks, he said.

“If you want to withdraw money, you can do that at any time,” Bovenzi said. “We’ll also be open for people who want to put money in the bank. This will as safe and sound a bank as any in the country.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.

PASADENA – Pasadena-based IndyMac Bank, the largest bank in California ever to be taken over by regulators, will reopen today as IndyMac Federal Bank and be “as safe and sound a bank as any in the country,” the bank’s new CEO said.

Customers with home-equity credit lines will find their accounts frozen, but transactions involving deposit accounts will be conducted as normal, according to thrift executives.

IndyMac, which was already in trouble because of subprime mortgages it had with people with bad or no credit history, was shut down Friday by federal regulators during a run on deposits. The federal Office of Thrift Supervision reported that $1.9 billion in consumer deposits were withdrawn.

The bank’s new CEO, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. executive John Bovenzi, was in Pasadena Sunday to try to reassure jittery bank customers, stockholders and the financial markets that the bank is sound, as is the nation’s banking system.

“Come Monday morning it will be business as usual,” Bovenzi said, adding that all 33 IndyMac branches will be open.

He said the FDIC’s role is to get the bank on solid financial footing, then sell it back to the private sector.

“Customers should just view this as a change in ownership,” he said. “I want to emphasize that customers should know that their ensured money is safe.”

Accounts with up to $100,000, as well as joint accounts up to $200,000 and individual retirement accounts up to $250,000 are fully insured by the FDIC.

Some 265,000 IndyMac customers with $18 billion in deposits are fully insured. However, about 10,000 customers with deposits totaling $1 billion are not.

“It’s important to keep in mind the small percentage of uninsured are still covered for insured amounts and will have immediate access to 50 percent of their uninsured balances,” Bovenzi said.

Although the bank was closed over the weekend, customers still had access to their funds via ATMs, debit cards and conventional checks, he said.

“If you want to withdraw money, you can do that at any time,” Bovenzi said. “We’ll also be open for people who want to put money in the bank. This will as safe and sound a bank as any in the country.”

But FDIC officials said Sunday that customers with home-equity credit lines will have their accounts frozen and “reviewed on a case-by-case basis” to ensure the losses on the bank’s loan portfolio don’t balloon from current estimates, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Credit lines to commercial construction contractors also will be frozen pending a review, but construction loans made to individual consumers will not be affected.

Customers of IndyMac’s reverse-mortgage subsidiary will continue to have access to their funds. Reverse mortgages provide older homeowners with periodic payments or a credit line secured by their homes.

The bank will continue to honor existing terms on accounts for insured depositors, but not so-called brokered deposits brought in by Wall Street firms or other middlemen.

Those deposits stopped accruing interest Friday. Once the FDIC identifies all the uninsured depositors, the brokered deposits that are within insurance limits will be returned to their owners, The Times reported.

IndyMac is the second largest bank ever to be taken over by the FDIC behind the 1984 takeover of Continental Illinois Bank.

IndyMac had been operating under close regulatory scrutiny since January, when the Office of Thrift Supervision determined that the company was floundering. It lost $614.8 million in 2007 and $184.2 million during the first quarter of this year, largely as the result of bad home loans.

The company’s stock, which traded as high as $50 a share in 2006, traded for as low as 28 cents Friday.

The FDIC has set up a toll-free phone line — (866) 806-5919 — and a page on its Web site — www.fdic.gov/bank/individual /failed/IndyMac.html — for customers with questions about their accounts.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.